Kellogg 1 Year MBA

Looking for some thoughts on Kellogg's 1 year MBA program. Let's say I have two options: Ross full-time MBA and Kellogg 1 Year MBA. For a career switcher (consulting --> Finance), what's my better option?

While Kellogg has stronger prestige, I'm concerned that the loss of a summer internship renders this route useless for a career switcher.

Any thoughts are welcome.

Thanks!

-Spalding

34 Comments
 

Kellogg is a much better school than ross though, so you should go with Kellogg. The one-year option will make it a bit harder for transitions, but plenty still get solid jobs coming out. Take a look at their employment report, which breaks down placement by the various programs.

 

Tough call really. Kellogg is the better school for sure. But from employers' perspectives you might find yourself a bit pigeonholed without that internship. Not that you can't make the switch through a one year program, but let's say that it takes a bit more "convincing" to make it happen successfully.

I would start by digging a bit deeper. What sort of consulting experience are you coming from? what sort of finance job would you like to go to? Who would be your ideal potential employer? Then, comb through the employment reports based on your more targeted goals, for starters.

 
Best Response

My consulting experience is in Management Consulting at a Big 4 firm. I left the firm as a Manager and focused on FS and retail clients. I'm doing an internship this summer with a Boutique Investment Bank and am interested in Investment Management (primary) or Investment Banking (secondary) after school. I've also gone through the CFA program.

It seems like my best outcome coming out of the 1Y is to land with a boutique IB or IM firm, and most of the recruiting work will be up to me. A two year degree from Ross would open the door to bulge bracket and middle market firms that I am less likely to have access to without a formal MBA internship.

Regarding the employment reports - Kellogg does NOT break out their 1Y students from the rest of the class, so there is little value to be gained here.

Thanks for your thoughts, I'm still torn.

 

As mentioned above, if you can overcome the first hurdle of securing the job, you'll be much better off at Kellogg. You'll carry the Kellogg brand with you for life, which will be influential not only in securing your next line of jobs but also in your perceived value to clients. Don't underestimate this if you're looking to build a career in client services. Given the large number of banks that hold Kellogg in high esteem, I think you'd be able to get solid banking job coming out of the one year program.

CompBanker’s Career Guidance Services: https://www.rossettiadvisors.com/
 
Spalding Get Yo...The one noteworthy tidbit though is that all these applications were round 2 (except for Columbia, which I submitted end of December). I think that hurt my chances and will always wonder if I would have gotten into Booth had I applied in Round 1.
Don't let this haunt you. I originally applied to Wharton back in Fall 2010 in R2 and got waitlisted through the entire summer. Two years later I applied in R1 with an even stronger profile, had an absolutely killer interview, and then got rejected outright. You'll never be happy if you always wonder what would have happened! Take your Kellogg acceptance and run with it.
CompBanker’s Career Guidance Services: https://www.rossettiadvisors.com/
 
Spalding Get Yo...

Thanks bro. Appreciate your story as well, MBA admissions is such a wild ride.

The Kellogg 1yr was a hypothetical that I discussed with my WL manager and now turns out to not be an option for me. Unless I get off the 2 year WL, I'll be heading to Ross in the fall.

Best
Judge

I can think of worse places to spend two years than Ann Arbor. Good luck.

 

Spalding, I'm really sorry about your admission results. Don't be too hard on yourself; MBA admissions is mostly fluff and is HEAVILY biased against white/Asian males in finance/consulting. It would not have mattered if you applied round 1; the two rounds are roughly equal in terms of selectivity. The only difference would have been if you applied ED at Columbia.

Best of luck at Ross! It's a super-fratty midwestern school, so depending on your personal predilections, you could have a lot of fun!

 

Hi Spalding, since I am working in a Big 4 and I am currently planning to apply for BS (hopefully 2015 intake), can I send you a pm?

I'm grateful that I have two middle fingers, I only wish I had more.
 

The MBA admissions process makes no sense at all, so don't let that discourage you. And I wouldn't describe Ross or U of Mich on the whole as "super-fratty and midwestern." There's a wide range of MBA and grad students there from all over the country - so you'll find a group where you fit in.

Congrats and have a good time. As a D1 athlete I suspect you'll enjoy football Saturdays up there.

 

Spalding, I assumed that you would like ross' fratty environment since you're a white guy who played D1 sports and lives in Chicago. But yeah, ross, Fuqua, darden, are very fratty; I was personally uncomfortable when I visited. Even Kellogg was a bit too much for me, hence why I only applied to schools where I knew I would be happy socially in addition to the post-MBA professional opportunities.

Best of luck at Ross!

 

Weren't you thinking of doing an executive mba at wharton/columbia last year?

If you want to transition into consulting you should do 2Y because an internship is critical in consulting. Although Kellogg 1Y is a bit easier to get into, they are reasonably comparable in terms of selectivity, sort of like J-term vs august entry at Columbia.

 

Yup. Once people get their full-time offers, 2nd year of b-school is just a huge party. The 2nd years at my school probably went out 4-5 times a week, travelled out of town every other week, and just had a blast.

 
"Hillary2016"

1Y is great for sponsored students, entrepreuners, and career accelerators. It's bad for career switchers. You're competing with 2Y's who already have an internship in their new field...plus a lot of companies do the bulk of their hiring from interns.

That's the impression I've gotten. Appreciate your thoughts.

 

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